PMC has ruled out a pre-examination question paper leak in its Junior Engineer (Civil) recruitment test and identified three candidates for alleged in-hall malpractice, MMRDA has put recruitment to 235 posts on hold and appointed a three-member committee to examine complaints over unusually high scores and the merit list

Pune: PMC Rules Out Paper Leak, Flags 3 Candidates For In-Hall Malpractice | Representational Image

Pune: Recruitment examinations conducted by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) have come under scrutiny over separate allegations of irregularities. While PMC has ruled out a pre-examination question paper leak in its Junior Engineer (Civil) recruitment test and identified three candidates for alleged in-hall malpractice, MMRDA has put recruitment to 235 posts on hold and appointed a three-member committee to examine complaints over unusually high scores and the merit list.

The issues were also raised by competitive-exam aspirants before NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar during his visit to Pune. The candidates have sought an independent technical examination of examination records, CCTV footage and digital audit trails before the recruitment processes are allowed to move ahead.

Candidate-submitted comparison chart: MMRDA top 19 candidates' raw and normalised marks compared with PMC JE, CIDCO AE (Civil) and BMC SE results |

PMC probe rules out pre-exam paper leak

The PMC Junior Engineer (Civil) examination was conducted through IBPS in seven sessions on April 22, 23 and 29, 2026, across centres in seven cities. A total of 41,272 applications were received for 169 posts. Following the examination, PMC declared the results in June and called 545 candidates for document verification.

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The controversy began after an image showing a question and answer options from the examination was circulated on X and other platforms after the document-verification list was published. PMC immediately referred the image to IBPS and ordered an integrity review.

According to PMC, the image was traced to one candidate who appeared in Session 1 on April 23. Since the online examination system separately shuffles the question sequence and answer options for each candidate, investigators matched the question’s position, option sequence and time remaining on screen with system records and traced it to a particular examination terminal.

Candidate-submitted comparison chart: MMRDA top 19 candidates' raw and normalised marks compared with PMC JE, CIDCO AE (Civil) and BMC SE results |

IBPS then examined the data logs of the 545 candidates called for document verification and compared the response patterns with 4,135 candidates who appeared in the concerned session. Three candidates were flagged. PMC said they showed a similar pattern of going through almost all questions without answering during the initial 30 minutes, followed by rapid answering. Their response spikes were preceded by washroom visits. CCTV footage was also examined.

The three candidates identified are Gajanan Pache, Shivshankar Shelgave and Vishnukant Waghmare. The Shivajinagar Police Station has registered a case against the three candidates. The three appeared at the ION Digital Zone, Chikalthana, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Camera-equipped glasses under police probe

The PMC’s IBPS report does not conclusively identify the device used. It says the data pointed to the use of a device to capture examination-screen content during the test. However, police are investigating allegations that the candidates may have used camera-equipped spectacles to photograph questions and transmit them outside the examination hall. The police probe is expected to establish how the alleged technology was used and whether others assisted the candidates.

The IBPS report records that one of the candidates’ examination papers could be traced to the image circulated on X. It also notes that the three candidates’ scores were considered non-genuine and that their behaviour was consistent with the use of unfair means at the candidate level.

Candidate-submitted comparison chart: MMRDA top 19 candidates' raw and normalised marks compared with PMC JE, CIDCO AE (Civil) and BMC SE results |

PMC has said the “data rules out a paper leak before the examination and instead points to examination content being captured from a screen during the test.” The corporation said the three candidates’ scores were declared non-genuine and their candidature cancelled. It also said the results of other candidates remained unaffected.

According to PMC, two venue functionaries, Yogesh Raju Rathod, an electrician, and Vikas Gaikwad, infrastructure staff supplied by the venue partner, were also identified for further verification. Rathod and Gaikwad, whose movements coincided with the candidates’ washroom visits, were identified. Both were fixed manpower supplied by the venue partner. PMC said both were removed from deployment and their resource IDs blocked from future assessments. An FIR has been filed against the three candidates and the two functionaries. PMC has maintained that no officer or employee of PMC, IBPS or TCS was involved.

PMC said its findings were corroborated by TCS and Ernst & Young. It has also tightened bio-break procedures and restricted fixed venue manpower from examination areas.

Candidates still demand independent probe

Despite PMC’s findings, candidates have questioned how the examination photograph could leave a restricted test centre. Aspirants Shrikant Bhor and Rushikesh Shinde have sought examination of CCTV footage, server records, response data, device mapping and audit logs.

“We want the original response data to be checked. If there is a genuine technical explanation, it should come out. If there is an irregularity, responsibility should also be fixed,” Shinde told The .

Meanwhile, PMC said 146 candidates are being issued appointment orders for the 169 posts, while some posts and five appointments have been kept pending for specified verification and eligibility reasons.

MMRDA candidates question 200/200 scores, seek scrutiny of merit list

The MMRDA recruitment controversy centres on the provisional merit list for 235 posts, with candidates questioning unusually high scores after normalisation. The examination was conducted by TCS on May 11 and 12, with 26,749 applications received and 20,459 candidates appearing. Candidates have particularly questioned how some aspirants with raw scores below 200 received 200 marks after normalisation and have sought a detailed examination of the normalisation process and underlying examination data.

Shrikant Bhor, 30, and Rushikesh Shinde, 25, who raised the issue with NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar during his visit to Pune on August 26, also submitted a comparative chart of the top 19 MMRDA candidates. The chart compares their MMRDA raw and normalised marks with marks secured in other recruitment examinations conducted by PMC, CIDCO and BMC.

The candidate-submitted chart shows that the top three candidates in the MMRDA merit list had raw scores of 196, 194 and 194, but all three were shown with 200 marks after normalisation. It also shows differences in the performance of some high-ranked MMRDA candidates in other examinations.

For example, the fourth-ranked MMRDA candidate is shown with 124 marks in the PMC Junior Engineer examination and 15 marks in the BMC Sub-Engineer examination, while another candidate is shown with 136 marks in the PMC JE examination. Another candidate ranked eighth in MMRDA is shown with 118 marks in PMC JE, 88 in CIDCO AE (Civil) and 16.25 in BMC SE.

The candidates, however, acknowledge that differences in marks across separate examinations “cannot by themselves establish malpractice”. Their demand is that the apparent variations be examined against the original response sheets, response times, answering patterns, CCTV footage and digital audit logs.

“The issue should not be decided only by looking at the final merit list. The response sheets, answering patterns, response time, CCTV footage and TCS audit logs should be checked,” Bhor told The .

Shinde told The that the decision to stop the recruitment process should be followed by a detailed examination of the evidence. “Stopping the recruitment is only the first step. The candidates want the evidence examined independently and the truth placed before everyone,” he said.

During their interaction with Pawar in Pune, the candidates also raised questions over the normalisation methodology, raw versus final scores, concentration of top-ranked candidates at particular centres and the performance of some candidates in other government recruitment examinations. They urged Pawar to take up the matter with the authorities and seek an independent technical examination of the records.

MMRDA has meanwhile put the recruitment process for all 235 posts on hold and appointed a three-member committee headed by former Maharashtra Chief Secretary Johnny Joseph, with IIT Bombay professors Shyamprasad Kargade and Daska Satyanarayana Murthy as members. Candidates have been given an opportunity to submit representations and supporting evidence.

Rohit Pawar: ‘Students’ future cannot be sacrificed to protect recruitment system’

During his interaction with competitive-exam aspirants in Pune on August 26, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar assured students that he would take up their concerns over the PMC and MMRDA recruitment controversies with the authorities.

Taking a strong stand on examination integrity, Pawar said, “The government must protect the interests of lakhs of students who spend years preparing for competitive examinations.” Referring to the wider pattern of alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, he said, “The hard work of lakhs of students, their parents and their dreams, the government must protect the value of all this.”

Pawar also urged the Chief Minister to look into the PMC paper leak issue and cancel the recruitment process in the MMRDA case and seek a probe under the supervision of the High Court.

Pawar also questioned the government’s handling of repeated examination controversies and demanded that the available evidence be examined instead of dismissing students’ concerns. On the MMRDA examination, he pointed to candidates securing 192 to 196 marks despite negative marking and said the allegations warranted a high-level inquiry.

“This is not an issue concerning just one examination. In the last one year, irregularities have come to light in eight to nine examinations, including BMC SE, BMC JE, PMC JE, Mahatransco AE, MJP JE, MMRDA JE, MIDC AE, MIDC JE and CIDCO AE,” Pawar said, demanding that the government take the concerns of students seriously.

He further said students should not be afraid to raise their voices against examination irregularities and assured them of political support. “The political leadership stands with the students, so do not worry,” Pawar said during the Pune interaction.

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